The year’s biggest conservative confab kicks off Thursday as thousands of activists, elected officials and party leaders gather for the Conservative Political Action Conference.
But while they’re gathering at a convention center just outside of Washington, D.C., their minds —Â and rhetoric —Â are focused squarely on the White House.
This year’s CPAC marks the unofficial kickoff of the battle for the conservative vote among GOP presidential contenders. For some, like Sens. Ted Cruz and Rand Paul, the event will be a homecoming, a return to their most ardent and loyal supporters.
For others, like former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, CPAC represents a lion’s den, full of activists skeptical of his conservative chops and wary of his presidential aspirations.
CPAC can put a potential contender on the map, as it did with retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson last year, when the movement launched to draft him into the presidential race drew significant attention and he took third in the presidential straw poll.
But it can also cripple a frontrunner, as it did when then-GOP frontrunner Mitt Romney called himself “severely conservative” at the 2012 convention.
We’ll be live-blogging the event here. Check back to follow all the CPAC ups, downs —Â and whatever Sarah Palin uses as a speech prop this year — here
9:00 A.M.: Ben Carson took the stage earlier than scheduled, but still found a packed auditorium and enthusiastic audience for a relatively subdued speech that unfolded like a laundry list of his policy priorities.
Carson urged listeners, “let’s not turn our backs on Israel,” said Congress should offer an alternative to Obamacare before they repeal it, and defended conservatives’ opposition to same-sex marriage. It was a departure from last year’s speech, during which he railed with fiery rhetoric against the “P.C. police.”
“We need to move in a very different direction,” Carson said, calling for the nation to move away from big government programs.
He also, during the question-and-answer portion of his appearance, said the government should have a “safety net” to support those in need, but should eliminate programs that cause “dependency.” And he said that home-schoolers, in his estimation, perform better than public school educated students.
